Book excerpt: Atho: a world struggling under the iron fist of a corrupt government. Sirotištes take children for both warranted and unwarranted reasons, wars rage on with no end in sight. Magicians and humans on both sides fight for survival. One hopes to overthrow while the other desires complete domination.In this, the first book in the series, Loslin and West Kelser lose their parents and are sent to live in a sirotište. Reunited after seven grueling years, they are thrown yet again into the midst of the chaos. Their pasts and their parents' legacy force them into the wars. Loslin, who has the Gift and captains a ship, attacks cruel and abusive slave owners. He and his brother, West, are destined for an inevitable fate. Loslin is pursued by a certain admiral of the government, who holds a scroll that is mysteriously linked to the Kelsers. They have to face each other's pasts to tie into the future… together, or not at all.